


Superstars In Their Own Private Movie

by Chash



Series: A Wide-Screen Viewing [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 07:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11202921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: If not for her infamous rivalry with team captain Bellamy Blake, the Arcadia Argonauts' decision to sign Clarke Griffin for a five-year contract would make perfect sense.Given their history, though, everyone on wizard Twitter is basically taking bets on how long it takes for them to murder each other.





	Superstars In Their Own Private Movie

**Author's Note:**

> An anon wanted a pro Quidditch players AU, and then I was talking about it with my group chat and it ended up also becoming a social media AU because who doesn't want to think a lot about how wizard social media would work?
> 
> This is a rhetorical question.

**Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
BREAKING NEWS: Clarke Griffin signs five-year contract with Arcadia Argonauts

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
Griffin will replace Echo Chillingsworth as chaser, and has also been promoted to co-captain with beater Bellamy Blake

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
Per team manager Marcus Kane, he chose the former Cambridge Celestial for her "incredible skills and strategic thinking" 

**Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
He did not comment on her notorious rivalry with Bellamy Blake, so, you know  
[gif of Kingsley Shacklebot eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans]

 **Alamora Dent** @alamoradent  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
I don't understand this picture???

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions and @alamoradent_  
Yeah, we're still developing wizard meme culture, sorry.

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions and @alamoradent_  
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/popcorn-gifs 

**Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions and @alamoradent_  
Basically: this is going to be good

*

When Bellamy Blake found out he was a wizard, he was fully prepared to leave everything about the Muggle world behind. The Muggle world had, after all, never done him any favors. His life got instantly and exponentially better as soon as he started at Hogwarts, and his only real issue with them was that they took so long to come and get him.

Then he found out that wizards have all the same problems humans do, just with a different, magical spin. Bigots are still bigots, but now they hate him because his parents didn't have magic, instead of because his father was Filipino. And poverty is still a pretty universal thing people are assholes about. Being a wizard doesn't solve all his problems, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't vastly improve his life. He was all-in on wizards, and fuck all that Muggle nonsense.

Still, once he figured out that the wizard world was, honestly, just as prejudiced and shitty as his own world, in its way, he'd actually been unspeakably grateful for the Slytherin house. It's a quarter of the wizard population he could pretty much just write off as assholes, which saved him a lot of time. And he'd feel bad about continuing to do it into adulthood, but, honestly, most people who still loudly insist on having _Slytherin pride_ after they finish with Hogwarts are actually just giant dicks, so he feels largely justified in his opinions. He'll give a pass to Slytherin kids, because the house really had sounded appealing to him, when he was being sorted. He _was_ loyal and ambitious, but he wanted to believe he was all the things the hat said. They all sounded good to him. And he does _like_ individual Slytherins; Miller's his best friend, and Emori is about the most Slytherin person he's ever met, but in all the good ways and none of the gross ones.

But he's unspeakably relieved he, personally, was put in Hufflepuff. He could have done well anywhere, he thinks, but he's come to love Hufflepuff as a litmus test. People who are dicks about his house tend to be dicks about everything else, too, so he's continued to loudly and relentlessly promote his house.

Which is how he starts hating Clarke Griffin in the first place, because she does the same for Slytherin. The first time he became aware of her was right after she signed with the Celestials, and he saw her picture in the paper.

His first reaction was, honestly, that she was cute, but then he noticed the Slytherin scarf, and then he read the actual _article_ , and she was everything he hated about Slytherins, pretty much. She was a pureblood from a long line of purebloods, someone who was rich and privileged and hadn't ever had to work for anything in her life. He's widely agreed to be one of the better Quidditch players in the country, and it still took two years after he left school before he was signed to a professional team. He paid his dues, and Clarke didn't. As soon as she was done at Hogwarts, her father put her on his team, and even if she did seem to be good, he couldn't help thinking that she was, well--a Slytherin. The epitome of a Slytherin.

Four years later, he's a little less sure about that.

She is, absolutely and without a doubt, a Slytherin, but she feels much more like the platonic ideal of a Slytherin, most of the time. On the pitch, she's smart and ruthless, the best kind of cunning. And if she has any particularly gross beliefs about Muggles or Muggleborns, she's smart enough to keep them to herself. And just because she wears Slytherin scarves and shit, that doesn't mean she's hardcore about house loyalty or anything. She does look cute in silver and green.

And then she follows him on Witcher. 

Social media is one of those things he was aware of, as a Muggleborn, but he'd never really been _interested_ in it. Which, he'll admit, might have been a defense mechanism, especially when he was younger. It wasn't like he could afford computers or phones, and it was easier to act like he didn't want them than to envy his friends for their possessions.

But then Raven Reyes decided that wizarding technophobia was not only ignorant but dangerous, and she singlehandedly started dragging them into the modern world. First, there were laptops and smart phones, and then the wizard internet, and then her knockoff social media sites: Facescroll, Witcher, and Blogwarts. 

Bellamy signed up for all of them because he dislikes wizard elitism more than he dislikes technology, but he mostly ignores them until he sees that Clarke Griffin is _also_ on Witcher, because she follows him after the announcement that they are, officially, teammates.

As soon as he gets the email, he calls his sister, and sends a silent _thank you_ to Raven for making phones a thing for wizards. It's just so _convenient_.

"What," says O, by way of greeting.

"Did Clarke Griffin follow you on Witcher?"

"Years ago. Why?"

"She just followed me."

"Of course she did. We're going to be teammates. It would be weird if she didn't follow you."

"We hate each other," he points out.

Octavia was actually at Hogwarts with Clarke, and has always maintained that Bellamy is kind of an idiot about her. And it's not as if he doesn't trust his sister's opinion, but, well--he and Clarke don't get along. Just because Clarke and Octavia do, it doesn't mean he's _wrong_ about her. He and his sister are two different people. They react differently to the world.

"You barely know each other," says O. "You don't know anything about her, and she doesn't know anything about you. You've been out of school for ten years and you still have a grudge against Slytherins, You _know_ that's bullshit."

"Not all Slytherins," he grumbles. "Emori and Miller are cool. Even Murphy's okay. But she's basically the asshole queen of the Slytherins."

"You should follow her back on Twitter." 

"Witcher," he corrects.

"It's Twitter and we both know it. But fine, Witcher. You guys have to learn to work together sooner or later, so you might as well start getting to know her. The _real_ her."

She's right, of course. She's his teammate, and he's not going to quit his team or tank his career just because he's upset that Marcus decided that not only was Bellamy not enough of a captain on his own, but that _Clarke_ was the right person to help him out.

And, honestly, he's even more upset that, from what he's seen, it's probably true. If they can get over themselves, they might complement each other.

But it's a big if.

"You know she doesn't like me either, right?" he asks, navigating to Witcher on his tablet and finding Clarke's account. She has #Slytherin _right in her profile_.

But she has _Chaser for the Arcadia Argonauts_ too, so he hits the follow button.

"I know you're both idiots," his sister says. "See you at practice."

"Yeah. It's gonna be fun."

*

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
welcome to the team, @cgriff

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2_  
Wow, that's really nice of you

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2_  
Did it hurt?

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
Never mind, I take it back.

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
I hope you like bludgers in your face

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
As a matter of fact, I do

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
Awesome, this is definitely the team for you then

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
Obviously

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
Why do you think I joined?

*

Clarke remembers, very clearly, the first time she saw Bellamy Blake play Quidditch. She was a first year, and he was a sixth, and it was Hufflepuff's first game of the year, against Gryffindor. Beater isn't generally one of the higher profile positions, not one that gets a lot of attention. It's not common to hear about talented beaters, and the fact that Bellamy was known as the best player on his team had her curious.

And she'd seen him in the halls too, just in passing. She knew he was attractive and had a nice smile and was always laughing and joking with his fellow Hufflepuffs. She knew that he caught her attention, whenever she saw him, and held it.

So she was curious about him, and he didn't disappoint. She'd never been so aware of beaters as _warriors_ before, as players involved in a strange battle all their own. Bellamy treated the bludgers as weapons, ones that not only threatened his teammates, but could be used against the other team. It felt like a revelation, watching him play, and when he'd finished school, she told her father to snap him up for the Celestials.

"I've heard he's good," Jake said, with a smile. "But I don't have a spot for a beater right now. Maybe once Charles is ready to retire, I'll make him an offer."

"He's going to be on another team by then," Clarke muttered, and she'd been right. The Argonauts had taken him on as an alternate, and within two years, he was a starting player, making a name for himself in the pros. Her father had agreed it would have been nice to get him, but never seemed particularly upset about it.

Clarke was mostly upset because she joined the Celestials as a chaser as soon as she could, and she thought it would be nice, to be on the same team as Bellamy Blake. She thought they'd work well together.

And somehow, despite four years of sniping every time they see each other, she still believes that. In spite of all logic and reason, when Marcus Kane offers her the position on the Argonauts, she's _excited_ about the prospect. She thinks it could really work.

"Thirty-eight hours," says Raven.

"Shut up," says Clarke. 

"I thought you were going to work with him."

"I am."

"You've been following him for _thirty-eight hours_ and you already hexed him."

One of the differences between Twitter and Witcher is that Raven coded Witcher such that mutual followers are able to perform small spells on each other, if they so desire. Clarke still isn't sure it was a good idea, but Raven thinks it's hilarious, and the reciprocity means that people can't just be assholes to everyone they dislike. You have to both opt-in to hexing.

According to Raven, the most amazing thing is how many people _do_.

"He was being a dick," Clarke grumbles. "And he hexed me back, so--"

"So you've had a lowkey crush on Bellamy Blake for like eleven years, and in the four years that you've been actually talking to him, you've managed to get off on the wrong foot and pick fights non-stop, and now you two are _finally_ on the same team and you celebrated by hexing him on the internet. Gotta say, that's impressive, even for you."

"He picked most of the fights," she says. " _I_ was nice."

"Yeah, you were. For about a week."

"Well, he was a dick. I'm not going to be nice where it's not wanted."

"That I get," Raven says. "I'm just not sure how you think you guys are going to be a good team. Or how anyone thinks that. If I was Kane, I never would have signed you."

"Kane knows that Bellamy's a better leader than a strategist," Clarke says, leaning back and closing her eyes. "Bellamy knows that too, I'm pretty sure. He can be a dick, but he's not stupid. He knows the team is missing something, and once he sees me play, he'll figure out I'm it. I'm pretty sure he's not spiteful enough to throw games because he doesn't like me."

"And then he figures out you're cool and you guys get married and have scary jock babies?"

"I'd settle for him stopping hexing me," Clarke says, and of course her phone buzzes with a Witcher notification. She reads it and starts hiccuping.

"Might take a while," Raven says, dry.

She scrolls through the hex options on the phone, selects the _dancing fingers_ hex and sends it to Bellamy. Then she gives Raven a big smile. "Yeah. But I've got time."

"As long as you're happy."

"Deliriously," says Clarke. Her smile is kind of ruined by an ill-timed hiccup, but she powers through. "I can't wait."

*

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
Back in uniform! New season, new rehearsal schedule. Why is it so early?  
[image of Octavia and Bellamy Blake in Arcadia Argonauts uniforms]

 **Quidditch Qorespondent Monty Green** @monty  
_Replying to @beater-blake_  
Updates on how your brother does with Griffin plz

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @monty_  
Are you asking as a friend or amateur reporter?

 **Quidditch Qorespondent Monty Green** @monty  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @monty_  
[Gif of Mayor Quimby saying "It can be two things!"]

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @monty_  
If you give me a byline I'll send pictures for @kwidditchkwestions

 **Quidditch Qorespondent Monty Green** @monty  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @monty_  
Deal

*

"You know you're alone on this, right?" Miller asks.

Bellamy glances at him as he gets his pads on. "What?"

"We took a vote. The rest of the team likes Griffin."

"All of you?" he asks, surprised. Miller gives him a look, and he adds, "Come on, Emori doesn't like anyone."

"Dude, other than you Echo was the least friendly member of this team. The rest of us are going to be--" He seems to really be considering the right word, and finally settles on, "Civil."

"Wow."

"Roan likes her," says Miller. "So do Lincoln and your sister. Me and Emori don't have anything against her. So if you want to try to drive her off the team or whatever, you're on your own, unless she's a nightmare to play with. Which I've never heard she is."

"So, you guys had a meeting to tell me that if I'm a dick to Griffin, I'm on my own?" he asks.

"Yup," says Miller. "No one else wants to try to scare her off the team."

"I'm not scaring her off the team."

"You know if we follow both of you on Witcher, we can see your conversations where you hex each other, right?"

He scowls reflexively. "She hexed me first."

"You told her you were going to hit her in the face with a bludger."

There's no real counterargument to that, so he closes his locker and shakes out his shoulders. It's not as if he hasn't been practicing, over the summer. He always practices. But there's something thrilling about the first day of real practice, being back with the team, ready for a new season. 

There's no feeling quite like it.

"If she's good, she won't let me hit her," he tells Miller, and Miller rolls his eyes.

"Good thing we've got Witcher now. I'm going to live-tweet this shit. Or whatever they're calling Witcher posts."

"Still tweets," says Octavia, meeting them as they leave the locker room. "Raven's not that creative." She slings her arm around Bellamy's neck and holds her phone up for a picture.

"Ow, fuck, what was that for?" he grumbles, and she flashes him a grin.

"Tweet. Your adoring public wants to see you."

" _Your_ adoring public. They don't care about me."

Her full attention is already on her phone. "Plenty of your fans follow me too. I post all kinds of exclusive Bellamy content. Did you tell him we're not banding together to scare Clarke off?" she adds, and it takes him a minute to realize she's talking to Miller.

"Yeah, he's on his own for this one."

"What happened to teamwork?" he grumbles, and then they're on the pitch and he sees Clarke already there, hair practically glowing in the early light. She looks good in the Argonauts uniform--he always thought the yellow and white of the Celestials didn't suit her--and she's laughing as she chats with Emori.

Somehow, he's never really ready to see Clarke Griffin. He's never actually been surprised by an encounter with her, but it always _feels_ surprising. Even expecting her, she manages to catch him off guard.

It's possible it's just easier to dislike her from a distance.

"See?" Miller says, low. "Emori's down. It's just you."

"It's her too," he shoots back, and then Emori spots them and waves.

Clarke turns as well, and she finds him immediately, paying little attention to either Octavia or Miller. Their eyes lock, and he nods, and she nods back.

They are _professionals_. They don't have to fight each other when they're working.

"Hey," he says, stopping at her side once they've reached the middle of the pitch.

"Hey," says Clarke. "How are your fingers?"

"Loose. They got a good workout. What color did your hair turn?"

"Pink. I kind of liked it." She straightens, looking over the rest of the group. Emori has turned her focus to Octavia and Miller, and all three of them are turned away from him and Clarke, giving them very pointed privacy. "Indra said you run the beginning of practice, and she doesn't get involved until later."

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes." He glances at her from the corner of his eye. "Why, you gonna fight me on that?"

"Probably," she says, without missing a beat. "But not yet."

"What are you waiting for?"

"To see what you do first. Maybe you've got some good ideas."

There's a smile playing around her mouth, like she's just waiting for his objection, and he finds he can't resist. "You think?" he asks, letting a little humor into his voice.

"No way," she says, immediately. "But I want my criticism to be informed." She worries her lip, watching as Lincoln and Roan cross the pitch to join the rest of them. "When did Marcus tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That he was signing me."

"After he did it." If they're asking questions, he figures he can just go for it. "The co-captains thing. Did you ask for it or did he offer?"

"He said he wanted me to help you with strategy." She's still not looking at him. "I asked what made him think you'd listen to me, and he thought about it and said he'd make me co-captain."

"I'm still not going to listen to you," he says, and she laughs. Which was what he was hoping for.

"Even if I'm right?"

"Especially if you're right." He claps his hands, calling the team to attention. "Okay! New season, new teammate. It's been a couple years since that happened. We all know Griffin, I'm not going to pretend we don't. She says she's silently judging me for the first week or so, so you guys don't have to deal with power struggles until later. Any news?"

"I got married," says Emori.

He frowns. They all know Murphy, of course, but he didn't even know they were engaged, let alone married. "When?"

"Two months ago."

"Okay, uh--congrats. I assume if you wanted anyone to know you would have invited us."

"Obviously."

"Great. Glad you're happy. Anyone else?" There's a chorus of no's, and he nods. "Okay. Mount up."

*

 **Octavia Made This Account And Is the Best** @coach-indra  
Good first day of practice. Excited for the coming season.

 **Cuidditch Corespondent Jasper Jordan** @airjordan  
_Replying to @coach-indra_  
On a scale from 1-10 how much bloodshed was there???

 **Octavia Made This Account And Is the Best** @coach-indra  
_Replying to @coach-indra and @airjordan_  
How do I block you

*

The first week of practice really isn't too bad. Bellamy's great on drills, and the team is, at this point, a fairly well oiled machine. They work well together, and the most surprising thing, in many ways, is how easily she fits into that. Of course, she, Emori, and Miller were all on the Slytherin team together for a few years, and Octavia was on the Gryffindor team at the same time, but she never felt much of a sense of _team_ back then. She'd been too busy trying to prove she wasn't just Jake Griffin's daughter.

At this point, she's given up on that. She _is_ her father's daughter, and she benefits from that. But she's a good Quidditch player too.

On the pitch, Bellamy treats her the same as his other chasers, which Marcus had expected. As far as he's concerned, they can do what they want in their free time, but he expects them to be teammates when they're in uniform. And both of them feel the same way.

On the first Friday, he's even the one who invites her for drinks.

"It's a tradition. It's bad luck if you don't come."

"Don't tell me you're superstitious, Blake."

"Just about drinking and breaking mirrors. You in?"

"I'm superstitious about drinking too. It's bad luck if I don't do it whenever I'm asked."

He snorts. "That is not a good way to live your life. Significant others and bored friends welcome too. We go to the Duck and Cover."

"Oh, cool. I'll ask Raven if she wants to come."

He frowns. "Reyes?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know you guys were friends."

"Why would you?"

"She comes out with us sometimes. Since she knows O and Jasper and Monty."

It's only a little embarrassing. "Yeah, I know. They invited me." He cocks his head. "You hate me, Bellamy. I wasn't going to come and ruin your nights out."

To tell the truth, Clarke has absolutely no idea why Bellamy hates her. She knows he _does_ , of course. He hasn't exactly been subtle about it. But she can't figure out what she did to piss him off, because he definitely hated her before he ever met her. And she is, on the one hand, aware that she's a rich, privileged pureblood Slytherin, but--Miller and Emori are both Slytherins, and Roan is rich and privileged, so she doesn't see why Bellamy hates _her_ so much, when he seems to get along with everyone else.

It's another reason she wanted to join the Argonauts. There's a stubborn part of her that's sure he'll like her, if he just gives her a chance.

The way he ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck only makes her feel more sure about it.

:"You didn't have to avoid your friends," he says.

"I didn't. I just spent time with them without you. But if we're hanging out anyway--"

"So, you've spent four years not merging our friend groups," he says.

"I didn't really think you _had_ a friend group," she teases, and he rolls his eyes. 

"Go get changed, Griffin. I'll see you at the bar."

She texts Raven to let her know that the team is doing drinks and she's invited, showers quickly, and nearly plows into Octavia in the locker room.

"You coming tonight?" she asks.

"Yeah." She worries her lip. "Do you know why your brother hates me?"

"Because he's a dumbass?" She shrugs. "He doesn't know you. He probably has some stupid idea about who you are, and as soon as he figures out he's wrong, he'll get over it."

"Yeah, that was kind of my plan. Just--be cool until he likes me."

Octavia looks thoughtful. "You still want him to?"

"To what?"

"Like you."

"We're co-captains," she says, feeling her face heat up a little. "Of course I want him to like me."

To her relief, Octavia just nods. "Cool. See you there?"

"Can't wait."

She goes home to get at least a little dressed up--nothing _much_ , but something better than her t-shirt and jeans--and picks up Raven.

Who sees right through her.

"So, still got a thing for Bellamy Blake?"

"Shut up."

"I'm not judging," says Raven. "He's cute. And pretty cool, once he gets over himself. You should definitely make out with him."

"I don't want to make out with him," she protests. "I just--I don't like when people don't like me. Unless I deserve it. And I didn't do anything to him. So--he should like me, right? We're teammates."

"Have you started fighting with him yet?"

"Not yet. I'm building to it."

"Pathetic," says Raven, and she's not wrong. "Really looking forward to this trainwreck."

Clarke's been to the Duck and Cover a few times, because Raven has a mild thing for the bartender that everyone is politely not commenting on. Which, as far as Clarke's concerned, should earn her the same right to non-commentary about Bellamy, but apparently Raven's never learned to keep her mouth shut.

He's already at the bar, chatting with Gina with an easy smile on his face, the kind Clarke never gets to see because he's always either playing Quidditch or hating her, and she does feel this irrational spike of jealousy.

But Raven doesn't seem concerned, and she's clearly the expert here, so Clarke just follows her to the counter, and when she leaves one stool free between herself and Bellamy, Clarke takes it.

It's not like she was being subtle, after all.

"Hey," he says. "Raven," he adds, with a nod.

"Old Blake."

"I just remembered why we don't hang out more," he says, but he's smiling. And he's still smiling when he turns his attention back to Clarke, which--god, she does want him to like her. He seems like the kind of person she'd get along with. By all indications, they should be good. They just got off on the wrong foot.

No time like the present to start fixing it.

"When do you want my new drills?" she asks, because that's the way to make friends and influence people.

He chokes on his drink. "Sorry?"

"It's been a week. I have new training drills, some ideas for how to best use our resources--"

"Jesus," he says, which is always a little disconcerting. She still doesn't really get Christianity-based profanity. "This is what you want to talk about right now?"

She gives him a smile. "Sorry, did you not?"

He pauses, apparently thinks it over, and then inclines his head. "Hey, Gina? Can we get a quill and some napkins?"

"Aren't you a Muggleborn?" Clarke asks, pulling out her phone. "Haven't you seen Monty's Quidditch app? You're supposed to be good with technology. And who brings a quill to a _bar_? Pens, Bellamy. They're pretty cool."

"You like pens?" he asks, sounding genuinely baffled.

"Not as much as I like smartphone apps." She leans in closer so he can see the display. "So, first off, let's talk plays."

*

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
This is a callout post for @cgriff who hexes me long distance because she's a coward

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2_  
I'm literally ten feet away from you I'm just too lazy to find my wand

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake2_  
And you hexed me back so you can't throw stones

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
I definitely can, there's a hex for that

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
_Replying to @beater-blake2 and @cgriff_  
This is even worse in person, in case you were wondering

*

After a month, Bellamy will admit that maybe, just maybe, he was wrong about Clarke Griffin. Because however she came across from a distance, in person, she's pretty much awesome. He knew she was a good player, but he hadn't ever really been sure if she was really a good _captain_ , how much could be attributed to her leadership versus her coach's or her father's.

These days, he can't deny she's a force to be reckoned with on the pitch, and it's all her. 

Which doesn't mean they get along, exactly. If anything, they fight more than they did before. As promised, now that she feels like she has a handle on the team dynamic, she has _opinions_ , and every practice is half bloodbath as the two of them yell about what everyone else should be doing until Indra steps in and rules in favor of one of them.

But, well, that's the kind of thing Bellamy _likes_ in a person. If she didn't know what she was talking about, it would make him furious, but Clarke is smart and informed and can cite historical precedent and teams that used similar strategies, and every time he of wins one of their arguments, it feels _earned_.

And then they go to the bar, get drunk, and hex each other on Witcher. He'd feel bad about it, except it's working for them, mostly. Clarke certainly doesn't seem to feel there's anything wrong with their current relationship.

When he's blowing bubbles out of his mouth for their first game, she even seems to feel bad about it.

"I thought you'd check your phone last night!"

"I forgot it in the locker room," he says. The bubbles are rainbow-colored and apparently harmless, so if anyone asks, he's just going to say they're to promote LGBT awareness. It's June, after all. Pride month. That's a thing.

"The other team could claim we have an advantage," Indra says, watching him with a critical eye. 

"He's hexed," says Clarke. "Isn't that a disadvantage? He's the one who's blowing bubbles."

"Can they be weaponized?" asks Monty. He and Jasper do not, technically, have officially sanctioned positions in the Quidditch community, but they run a news twitter and do streaming commentary, and no one with any institutional power understands new technology well enough to figure out what it is they're doing or how to do it better, so they're just letting them be.

"Weaponized?" Bellamy asks.

"Like--if you blow it at the other team, will you blind them?"

"You've never played Quidditch, have you?" Clarke asks, sounding amused. "A Gryffindor tried to spit on me fifth year and it blew back and hit her in the face."

"Yeah, if I tried to blow this on someone, I'd just hurt myself," he agrees. "If it hurts."

"It's worth checking, though." Clarke faces him, looking him up and down. "Test it out."

"Test what out?"

She gestures to her face. "See what happens if you hit me with it. If it hurts and you hit someone by accident, we'll get disqualified anyway. And it's my fault. I hexed you."

"Last night. You didn't know I wasn't going to get it until right before the game."

"Yeah, I can't believe you don't obsessively check Witcher." She's smiling, but not backing down. "Seriously, test it. I've got an alternate."

It's their first game, and all it will affect is what seed they are when tournament play starts. The stakes are low, but a disqualification would be worse than a loss. If the stupid bubble hex is actually a danger to anyone, they should find out now.

But the idea of Clarke missing their first game makes him itch.

"I know you like to yell orders during games," she adds. "You could hit one of us with friendly fire if it stings. Every beater's worst nightmare."

It tugs a smile out of him. "You're weirdly invested in me blowing in your face," he says, his last lingering protest. "You know we're going to be even, right? I'm going to hex you back as soon as the game's over."

"I want to know if it can be weaponized too."

"Inquiring minds, Bellamy," Monty adds, and Bellamy feels a strange rush of self-consciousness. There's something odd about talking to Clarke in front of witnesses. They're still, officially, enemies. They keep hexing each other and getting into arguments about nothing on Witcher. He's not even sure that Clarke knows his opinion of her is changing, let alone if anyone else does.

So it's probably weird, joking around with her in front of someone who is, in addition to his sister's dorky friend, kind of a reporter. 

"If I blind you, you can't get pissed," he grumbles, and blows a stream of bubbles into her face.

She actually _giggles_ , this bright, shocked sound, and her face breaks open in delight. Even when she's drunk, he's never seen her look so--happy.

"It tickles," she says by way of explanation. "Kind of like--carbonated drinks, but on my face."

That's another thing about Clarke. She can't be _that bad_ of a Slytherin, if she's friends with Raven and uses all the new technology and knows words like _carbonated_. She seems more at ease with Muggle things than he does, half the time.

"You probably shouldn't hit anyone," she continues, still smiling. "But I don't think it's dangerous."

"Do me," says Monty, and Bellamy obliges. He laughs too. "Yeah, I don't think that's an unfair advantage. And it's a distraction for everyone, so--"

"Thanks for your completely unofficial ruling," Clarke teases, and Monty grins.

"Just you wait, we're going to get new official positions any day now."

The ref, when she shows up, agrees with Monty's assessment, and it's honestly kind of funny, once they're in the air. The first few games of the season are always fairly laid back, no one that worried about their standings yet, everyone just happy to be back. And they're playing the Banshees, a team they've always been on good terms with, so they all find his hex _hilarious_. And it's pretty hilarious for him too; he keeps forgetting about it, and then he'll yell something as he moves, leaving a trail of bright bubbles in his wake.

They win the game, and Jasper even insists on paying for the first round of drinks.

"This is going to be _awesome_ for us," he explains.

Clarke downs half her cider in one chug. "What part?"

"Look, if there is any justice in the world, Bellamy Blake spewing rainbow bubbles while he nearly gets hit in the face with a bludger is going to be the first ever viral wizard video. Everyone's going to want to see it. We're already making reaction gifs."

"You guys get that gifs for you are basically just regular photos for us, right?" she asks. "They're not actually exciting."

"It's not about being _new_ ," says Monty. "It's about teaching a new visual language. You have moving pictures, but you don't take advantage of them. That's what we're teaching."

"You are such a nerd," Clarke says, fond. She turns her attention to Bellamy. "Better?"

He exhales, a test, and smiles when one tiny bubble slides out of his mouth and pops on her nose. It makes her laugh again, and that's nice too.

"Better," he confirms.

"Cool, get Witcher up. You need to hex me."

"You want to help me pick a hex?" he asks, smiling helplessly. They won, and they worked well together, and it was so much _fun_. He loves Quidditch, but he can't remember the last time he enjoyed himself this much.

"You need to get a good one, right?" she asks.

"Obviously." He grabs his phone and opens up the app. "Have you ever had a tail before? I bet you'd look good with a tail."

She grins. "I bet I'd look _awesome_."

*

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
Okay, listen up, #slytherinpride, we need to talk. 1/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
1\. We're not an oppressed minority. If all the other houses think we're wrong about something, it's probably because we're wrong 2/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
I'm not surprised we learned how to use the language of the oppressed for our benefit, but it's gross, and we need to stop 3/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
2\. If there are fewer Slytherins on Witcher than other houses, it's probably because Witcher was made by @reyes, a muggleborn 4/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
It's based on Muggle technology. If you hate Muggles and Muggleborns, you don't deserve to be on here 5/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
3\. #slytherinpride is a real thing, but if what you're bragging about is the purity of your blood, you're proud of the wrong thing 6/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
Be proud of your ambition, your brains, your logic, your loyalty. And use all those things to realize blood purity is bullshit 7/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
It takes time to unlearn this, because we get it from when we're young. Even liberal pureblood parents have prejudice 8/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
But it's time worth taking and work worth doing 9/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
4\. Of course there are assholes in every house, no one is denying that. But look at the Slytherins you're praising 10/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
They're bigots, blood purists, and quidditch players (thanks I guess) 11/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
If that's what you're proud of, people are going to call you out for it 12/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
When Hufflepuffs brag about Horatio Jumplinker, they add "too bad he was a racist." It's not HARD, if you care 13/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
5\. If you want people to stop telling us we're bigots, we have to stop being bigoted, and we have to speak out against bigots 14/

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @crgiff_  
In conclusion: I'm a proud Slytherin, but I don't have #Slytherinpride. We have too much work to do. 15/15

*

Clarke is in the middle of a mind-numbing conversation about tax reform with her mother, Roan, and Thelonius Jaha when her phone buzzes, as if it _knows_ she needs a break.

"This could be important, excuse me," she says, pulling it out her clutch.

Thelonius lights up. "Is that your--fono? I haven't seen one yet."

"It's been almost a year since the release," says Roan. He has a talent that always impresses Clarke for being simultaneously polite and judgmental. "I'm surprised you hadn't encountered one yet."

"Is it a--call?" asks Thelonius. "When someone wants to speak with you?"

"Witcher notification," she says. It's from @BelevolentBot, which is the account Raven set up for people to send anonymous spells. It's only coded for benevolent magic, so it doesn't let anyone get around the hex restrictions, and for it to work, you still have to opt-in by following the account. Clarke did it because she follows basically all of Raven's official accounts, but she never got anything from it until she went on her #slytherinpride rant. In addition to a decent number of likes and retweets, she got a smattering of nice things, mostly candy and cheering spells. 

And now, when she tweets cryptic things about being grumpy, she gets chocolate frogs. Basically every time.

"You'll like this," she tells Thelonius, and opens up the notification. As expected, the message is just the standard, _Someone thinks your toad-ally cool! Sorry I couldn't come up with a frog pun_ , and then a packet of chocolate frogs appears on her phone.

"A friend seems to think you need a pick-me-up," says Roan. He liked her _Going to a party, with my mom, it's going to be awesome!!_ tweet, so he knows exactly why someone would be sending her nice things.

"Fascinating," says Thelonius. "How does it work?"

"The magic is coded in the programming," says Clarke. "You send a username and a keyword to this account, and it sends the spell. So--someone sent the account the keyword _frogs_ and my name, and when I view the post it sent, it performs the spell."

"Amazing. Can you send your own? How does it work?"

"Yeah, it's pretty easy. We could send Wells some flowers."

"We can?" he asks.

Abby shakes her head, fondly indulgent, and Clarke ends up spending the remainder of the evening educating Thelonius about social media, which is a much better use of her time than she was expecting. Granted, she has to agree to help him purchase and set up a phone of his own the next day, but she makes Wells agrees to come too, so at least she'll get to spend some time with him.

Once he finally lets her go, she texts Raven.

 **Me** : Minister Jaha is going to buy a phone  
You're welcome  
Are you still at the bar?

 **Raven** : Thanks for slowing converting the wizard aristocracy to tech  
Not sarcasm  
At the bar  
Bellamy's still here too

 **Me** : If I wanted to know where Bellamy was I'd ask him

 **Raven** : You would not  
That would be too much like flirting

 **Me** : Order me a cider, okay?  
I'll be there in a few minutes

She says goodbye to her parents, lets her father mildly tease her about the Argonauts' upcoming game about the Celestials and apologizes to her mother for getting Thelonius on a technology kick. They hug her and tell her they love her, and she wishes that she didn't feel so out of place at things like this, mostly because she thinks that if she felt more comfortable, she'd be able to do more good. As it is, she either avoids or fights the other purebloods, and she's not sure how helpful either of those things is.

But Thelonius Jaha is getting a phone. That really is progress.

There's a fireplace set up with floo power in the entryway, and Clarke waits her turn to take it out. She's greeted by a blast of cool air from the air conditioner Raven installed in the Duck and Cover, and she shivers a little, but it's kind of nice. The party was way too stuffy, and the alcohol will warm her up in no time.

Emori whistles. "Damn, Griffin. You clean up well."

Everyone turns to her, and she doesn't let herself look at Bellamy any more than anyone else. She _does_ look good. She knows that. She likes dressing up, every now and then.

"Can't let the family down," she tells Emori. There's a free seat next to Bellamy, so she takes that one, and accepts her cider from Gina. "Thanks."

"Roan was texting us pictures of Thelonius Jaha not leaving you alone," says Gina. "It's on the house."

"As long as everyone was enjoying my pain." She takes a long drink of cider and puts the chocolate frogs up on the bar, between herself and Bellamy. "It really wasn't that bad. He's into phones. Save the pity until he gets one and starts tweeting me about how to use it."

"How many times is he going to accidentally hex you?" Bellamy asks. "It's got to be at least five, right?"

"Maybe I can get away with not following him back," she muses. "He might not figure it out for a while."

"Isn't it your personal duty to bring all the purebloods kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century? Don't you need to help?"

She can't read his tone, and it bothers her a little. She and Bellamy are--good, she thinks. They continue to snipe at each other, but it feels friendly, at least to Clarke. He's given a few interviews about having her on the team, and they've been largely positive, but still guarded. His official position seems to be that while they don't always get along or agree, he recognizes her value as a player and is happy to have her on the team.

It's similar to what Clarke herself has said, although the _don't always get along_ is, on her side, mostly because he's saying it, and she refuses to say they're friendly before he does.

Which is, honestly, their entire relationship in a nutshell. They're both too stubborn to just have a discussion, so they're going to keep on saying they don't get along until they die, probably.

It wouldn't be so bad, if Clarke wasn't thinking about how much she wants to make out with him.

"It's more of a hobby," she says, a little belatedly. She might have gotten slightly distracted by his jawline. " _Duty_ is overstating it."

"I guess if I had to go to government parties, I'd probably be a lot happier if I could just spend the whole time talking about Witcher." He taps the rim of his glass. "What did you do before?"

"Make Wells come and hang out with me so I didn't die of boredom. It's not hard."

"I guess I have trouble imagining you with other purebloods," he admits.

"You know Roan's a pureblood, right? And Miller. You've seen me with plenty of purebloods."

"You know what I mean." He bites the corner of his mouth, and Clarke's heart lodges in her throat. It seemed impossible that his entire issue with her could have been her blood status--it happens, and she gets it, and she knows how she looks on paper, but he knew enough Slytherins and purebloods that she thought he wouldn't automatically think it made her an asshole. And, okay, she _is_ an asshole to him, like, all the time, but it's never been about blood. They just like being assholes at each other.

But if he maybe wanted to discuss _not_ being assholes, she'd be good with that.

"Nope," she says, cheerful. "I have no idea what you mean. Tell me."

He gives her a reluctant smile. "Were you at some point a pureblood asshole and you learned not to be or what?"

She laughs. "Not like you're thinking." It's loud right by the bar, and people keep passing them on their way to order drinks, so she signals Gina for a refill and then stands. "Booth?"

"Sure."

He's the one who grabs the chocolate frogs, making her smile, and he puts them down between the two of them on the table. Clarke grabs one, and he watches her, curious. 

She wraps her hands around the mug of cider, shivering a little. It's cooler by the window, and goosebumps are starting to prickle her arms.

"You know a weird thing about blood purity?"

"Everything I know about blood purity is weird," he says, and she smiles. "But yeah, tell me what's weird to you. That's got to be a lot."

"If you married a witch, any witch, even another Muggleborn, like Raven, and had a child with her, that child would be a pureblood. For census purposes."

His eyebrows shoot up. "How?"

"Because the census asks what your parents are, and half-Muggleborn isn't an option. It's just witch, wizard, or Muggleborn. And everyone would know, I'm not going to say they wouldn't. _Blake_ isn't a good old wizarding name. But that was the trick purebloods came up with, because otherwise inbreeding and bigotry were going to kill us off. And so what happened was that purebloods started meeting Muggleborns, or the children of Muggleborns, at school, and they'd get married. And then they'd have a kid, and their families had to decide to either say the bloodline was corrupted, or the kid was still one of them. It used to be two generations, so I'd be a pureblood, but my dad wouldn't have been, but I guess that was too much work."

"One of your grandparents is Muggleborn?" he asks, sounding curious.

"My paternal grandmother is a Muggleborn, yeah. But--Griffins. Such an old, pure wizarding family. We can trace ourselves back to Godric Gryffindor himself, so of course I'm a pureblood. And my mom's side can trace back to Salazar Slytherin, so of course I'm a Slytherin. But once I knew how the blood purity really works, I couldn't take any of it seriously, I guess. I'd hear people saying their line was nothing but witches and wizards like that made it better than--"

"Than me," Bellamy supplies. To her surprise, he shrugs off the overshirt he's wearing, a light flannel, and leans across the table to drape it over her shoulders. "You're shivering. Keep going."

The shirt is soft and smells like him, and Clarke lets herself wrap it around her shoulders.

"My parents were never really--they're not _blood purity is all that matters_ like the Wallaces, or Roan's family. But my mother still said I'd be a Slytherin, because we're a Slytherin family, and I was happy when I was. I didn't see an issue, until the rest of the Slytherins started bullying Wells. Purebloods aren't Hufflepuffs very often, and they figured it meant he was a loser. And it just kept getting stupider and stupider, as I started meeting people. Raven and Monty and Jasper are all Muggleborns, and they're just as smart and capable as everyone else. And--I kept hearing about how Slytherins are supposed to be _smart_ , and I can't think of anything stupider than deciding that Muggles and Muggleborns don't have anything useful to offer. Between that at the hypocrisy--" She shrugs. "It just didn't make sense to me, once I started thinking about it."

"But you didn't stop being a Slytherin," he says, and Clarke finds herself smiling.

"When you find out you're part of something bad, you can either stop being a part of it or try to make it better. Slytherin isn't going away, so--I want to make it better. Eleven year olds aren't a lost cause just because their parents are assholes." She lets herself nudge his foot. "There's even some hope for thirty-year-olds."

"I'm twenty-nine," he grumbles, and she grins.

"Who said I meant you?"

He laughs and takes a chocolate frog. "Maybe I just want to think there's hope for me."

"I think you're good," she says, honest.

He raises his glass. "Cheers to that," he offers, and she clinks her mug against it.

"Cheers."

*

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
Whoever keeps sending me chocolate frogs with @BenevolentBot should just do it the normal way

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @cgriff_  
Obviously I appreciate it, so this is a blanket thank you, but I'd rather do a personal one

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @cgriff_  
*whomever

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @cgriff and @beater-blake2_  
I'm 90% sure that's not right

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @cgriff and @beater-blake2_  
*rite

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @cgriff and @beater-blake2_  
thx 4 teh halp

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @cgriff and @beater-blake2_  
perfect

 **Raven Reyes** @reyes  
_Replying to @cgriff and @beater-blake2_  
[gif of Harry Potter at the end of the second Triwizard task captioned "I came out of the ocean because you need to stop"]

*

"You know," says Octavia, not sounding at all impressed, "I was hoping once you figured out you were basically a ten-year-old with a crush on Clarke Griffin, you'd _stop_ being a ten-year-old with a crush on Clarke Griffin."

"Really? That's surprisingly generous of you." She kicks his foot, and he looks up from the phone, flashing her a quick grin. "Seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're into Clarke," she says, which is, he's pretty sure, obvious to everyone in the entire world _but_ Clarke. Even interviewers have stopped asking about their previous animosity, presumably because he kept getting carried away talking about awesome plays she planned or goals she scored or whatever other amazing thing she did that game. They keep on bickering and hexing each other, but they've also started just-- _talking_. Their discussions of strategy are conversations, not arguments, and he no longer feels like he has to make up excuses to interact with her when they're at the Duck and Cover. It's nice, but--he'd sort of like to move on to the next step, and he hasn't figured that one out yet.

Octavia's is probably right that it's not sending her anonymous gifts of chocolate frogs one day and hexes the next. That's really not a good plan. It just sort of happened.

"And?" he says.

She huffs. " _And_ you should do something about it. Clarke's too stubborn."

"Are you saying she's more stubborn than I am?" he asks, making sure to put some indignation into his voice.

As he hoped, Octavia groans. "Merlin's beard, Bell, it's not a _competition_! You--" He grins, and she glares. "I'm trying to _help_ , dick. But if you _don't_ want to go out with Clarke, I'll shut up."

Ideally, she'd just keep going, but apparently he was enough of an asshole that she's going to require actual verbal confirmation that he wants her advice. Which, admittedly, he deserves.

"Sorry," he says. "Yeah, if you've got some insight, hit me. I know I suck at this."

Her smug look is probably warranted. "She liked you."

"Yeah? When did she stop?"

"I meant--I met her second year at Hogwarts? Right after you graduated. And she was really excited, like--oh, you're Bellamy Blake's sister? He's such an amazing player, I can't believe he hasn't been signed yet, all that. She was such a big fan."

"And then she met me." He knows Clarke well enough to see where this is going.

"And then she met you. If I'd known it was coming I would have told you, but I didn't, so the first I heard about it you guys hated each other. And Clarke's--"

"If I didn't like her, she wasn't going to like me either." He rubs his face. "Fuck."

"It's not like I don't get it," she offers, not looking at him. "I assumed she'd be a dick when I met her too too. But--she doesn't think you're a dick _now_. She still likes you, okay? I think she _always_ liked you. But I think she's always going to make you make the first move."

It does make a lot of sense. Clarke's never going to want to like him more than he likes her, and she'll follow his lead, because he was the one who disliked her in the first place. 

But he _really fucking likes her_. And if she likes him that much too, that would be awesome.

"So, I should stop acting like a ten-year-old with a crush and start acting like a twenty-nine-year-old with a crush?" he asks.

"Twenty-nine-year-olds with crushes tend to have better luck dating. I'm just saying."

"Yeah, but I've been shitty at it basically that whole time." But he offers her a smile. "Thanks for the pep talk, O. Sorry I'm an asshole."

"You are not. Just--we're all going to be happier if you guys resolve this, okay?" Her pause is deliberate. "But just in case your sexual tension is helping us win, maybe wait until the season is over."

He snorts. "So, you asked me to get lunch so you could lecture me on how I should just tell the girl I like that I like her, and now you're telling me that I shouldn't do that because you don't want us to lose at Quidditch?"

"I'm telling you this now because I want you to get your act together in the next _year_. I know you. I'm not expecting you to do this _soon_. I'm just hoping for someday."

"Thanks, O," he says, dry, and she just looks at him until he clears his throat and sighs. "Yeah, uh--really. Thanks."

"Just don't let it affect your game," she says, "and we'll call it even."

*

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
After an exciting season, finals have come at last! Congrats to the Arcadia Argonauts and Polis Pegasi!!

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
The Pegasi made it to finals last year as well, losing out to third-place finishers the Manchester Manticores

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
But this is a huge leap for the Argonauts, who finished in seventh place last season

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
Apparently making infamous rivals into co-captains is actually a good strategic play???

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
Who knew

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions_  
Marcus Kane

 **Quidditch News Network** @kwidditchkwestions  
_Replying to @kwidditchkwestions and @cgriff_  
Touche

*

"So, this is personal, right?"

Clarke looks up from the playbook, blinking at Bellamy. He's leaning against the frame of the door, looking unfairly hot in what seem to be his _pajamas_. He's wearing his glasses and everything. It's a lot.

She rubs her eyes, verifying he's real. "What are you doing here?" she asks, like he's the weird one for being in the team lounge at ten o'clock at night.

"Raven sent me. She turned on the GPS on your phone because you weren't picking up and she thought you died."

"Oh." She looks at the phone, trying to put it together. "Yeah, I was tagged in--Wells and Raven were arguing about something and it kept notifying me, so I just put it on do not disturb."

"So you could concentrate on tearing your hair out." 

"It's called strategy."

He sits down next to her and picks up the phone, idly scanning the notifications. She'd given him access to operate it when he gave her access to his own, in case there was an emergency and only one of them had a phone on them, but it's odd to see him using it so casually.

Everything about this is odd, honestly.

"Raven sent you?" she asks, when he doesn't say anything.

"You were here. She thought I had the best chance of making you feel better." Apparently he finds a notification he likes, because he swipes the phone open. "Huh. Raven's really good at this."

"Good at what?"

He shows her the tweet: chocolate frogs from @BenevolentBot. They appear as soon as she reads the tweet.

"I was looking at it from your account, I thought that might be enough."

"You know Raven. She's the best." She opens the bag and takes out two frogs, handing him one. "How many of them were from you?"

He doesn't bother denying it. "I don't know how many you get. But, uh--I'd send them when you seemed down."

"And when I complained about you."

His mouth tugs up in half a smile. It took her a little while to get that pattern, but as soon as she did, she started to suspect it was him.

"You always make me sound like a real asshole."

"Not always."

"No, not always."

He's close enough that she lets herself lean on him, and to her relief he just leans back into it, putting his arm around her.

"So, personal?" he asks.

"What?"

"I know your ex-girlfriend plays for Polis, so is this some honor thing? Like--if we don't win you aren't really over her or something? That sounds like the plot of a sports movie, so I assume it's a thing."

She has to laugh. "We broke up three years ago."

"So you're just always this intense? I was hoping there was going to be an easy solution."

"I want to win," she admits. "So--"

"I want to win too. That's why I was going to relax and go to sleep early." She glares at him, and he smiles. It's soft and easy and very unfair. "Seriously, I don't even know what you're trying to do right now."

"Neither do I," she admits. "Just--hoping if I stare at the plays for long enough something new will jump out."

"You should go home," he says. "Get some sleep. Think about literally anything else."

"Your contract is up this year," she tells him, like he doesn't know. It had been how she reassured herself it was okay to take the five-year position Marcus offered her; if it was awful, he could leave. And if Marcus didn't want to let him go that badly, she could always renegotiate. It had seemed to be the most polite way to deal with the situation. 

Aside from not joining his team in the first place, but--she really wanted to be on his team.

"Yeah," he says, sounding surprised. "Why?"

"Are you going to sign back on?"

There's no hesitation. "Of course." His thumb rubs her shoulder. "Clarke," he says, voice amused. "Did you seriously think you scared me off my own team?"

When he says it like that, it does sound ridiculous. "No. But--maybe you wanted a change."

"No. I'm pretty good here." She can practically feel his hesitation, but then he shifts, leans closer. "O said you were a fan."

"What?"

"Of me. Before we met."

It makes her smile. "After we met too. Just because you're a dick doesn't mean you're a bad player."

"Thanks. But--I'm sorry. For being a dick."

"I'd be a dick too. But I was hoping at some point I'd just--stop seeming like an asshole pureblood."

He flips her phone over and taps the Slytherin crest on her case. "I didn't know you were reclaiming it."

It's so _stupid_. Not that he felt that way, but it's so obvious, now that she's said it. "Merlin," she says, and he laughs.

"I've never met anyone this into Slytherin five years after Hogwarts who wasn't an asshole. Every time I started thinking you were okay, you'd be wearing a scarf or a pin or--"

"I probably could have figured that out, if I thought about it. Fuck."

"I probably could have asked."

"Well, why communicate like adults when we could just stubbornly refuse to talk about anything and make uninformed assumptions?"

"Semi-informed," he says, and she laughs.

"Sorry, semi-informed."

"Better." He kisses her hair, so soft she barely believes it happened. "I'm not leaving the team, Clarke. Even if we lose. So you should go home and get some sleep."

It's not really the conclusion she was hoping for, but it's probably the more realistic one. He can like her without wanting her. They're still friends.

"I know."

"We can come in early to do some last minute-planning tomorrow," he offers. "I always wake up way too early before games."

"Why am I not surprised?"

He stands and stretches, like he's hoping this will encourage her to do the same. Mostly it just lets her check him out when his tank top rides up a little.

"We can't even agree about how to stress out," he teases.

"We agree most of the time now," she points out. "Sooner or later."

"Sooner or later," he agrees. When he offers his hand, she takes it, and when he tugs, she finds herself suddenly in his space, closer than she expected, and he's watching her.

It's on the tip of her tongue to say she has to get home, to break the moment, but she doesn't really want to.

She'd rather see what he does.

Strangely, what he says is, "Fuck, my sister's going to kill me."

It's possible she's misreading the situation, but he's _still_ looking at her, and it still feels like he's about half a second away from kissing her, and the hand that he brought up to steady her when she stumbled is still on her waist, so she just says, "Seriously?" and he laughs.

"Not--she told me to wait until after the season was over. I think she was joking, but--this might not be the best timing. You know, uh, for our focus, or--"

It's as much confirmation as she needs. He's ridiculous, and she can't stop smiling. "How well do you think I'm going to focus if all I can think about tomorrow is when I'm going to get to kiss you?" His throat bobs on a swallow. "And how much better do you think we'd both sleep _tonight_ if we weren't stressed out and worried? I know I'd feel a lot better going to bed if I was worn out. And well fucked," she adds, just to drive the point home.

His arms slide all the way around her waist, and he recovers from his shock enough to smile. "When you put it like that," he murmurs, and leans down for the kiss she's been waiting for, the kiss she's been wanting for _years_.

It's just as good as she hoped it would be. And later, spent and content and snuggled against his chest, she sleeps like a log.

*

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
@beater-blake2 what did I tell you

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
you had ONE JOB bell

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
That's definitely not why we lost

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
u cant prove that

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
I'm not going to present evidence here, and you don't want evidence anyway

 **Bellamy Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
We came in SECOND just be happy

 **Octavia Blake** @beater-blake2  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
I'm just saying I warned you

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
Feedback noted

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
Don't worry, I've already got him planning for next year

 **Clarke Griffin** @cgriff  
_Replying to @beater-blake and @beater-blake2_  
We've got this


End file.
